


to begin, i’m not sorry for myself or any part of me

by iittaliia



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Bickering, Canon Compliant, Character Death Fix, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, First Kiss, Fix-It, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Overuse of italics, Post-Canon Fix-It, Richie Tozier's Stand Up Act, Stanley Uris Lives, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28856328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iittaliia/pseuds/iittaliia
Summary: ”You know what you were saying about talking about…someone, if they were okay with it?”Richie’s eyes widened, because of all the things he thought Eddie might say, this wasn’t it. This wasneverit, but even less here,now, with Richie sitting dumbly in front of his dressing room mirror looking a mess, Eddie standing few feet away looking anything but a mess - except maybe emotionally, but that was just his normal state of being.//Or, Richie was coming back, coming out, and coming home.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 100





	to begin, i’m not sorry for myself or any part of me

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again! Apparently these Losers have taken permanent residence in my heart, since five fics weren't enough. I still have never read the book, watched the miniseries or more than glimpses from the new films, and tbh I don't intend to. 
> 
> I was picturing them as they were in chapter two, but characterization comes from other fics, so if nothing else at least I should know what the fans perceive them as and hopefully I've succeeded writing them as such.
> 
> I should note I've never been to a stand up -show.

The lights were bright. Richie’d been doing stand-up for most of his life, and still he didn’t think he’d ever get used to just how damn bright the lights were. When he’d started out he’d enjoyed it, the idea of everybody’s eyes being on him, but the older he got and the further his hairline went he’d started to not so jokingly ask if they could be dimmed, if maybe the attention could be solely on his voice and not his face.

Obviously the lights never got dimmer because no one would want to hear stupid jokes in the dark, and instead the stages just kept getting bigger and lights brighter.

Not this stage though. It was a medium sized venue, not nearly as big as Richie had been doing for the last few years, but it still held in a good crowd. The lights were warm and welcoming instead of cold and terrifying, and for the first time in a long time Richie’d felt _good_ about going on stage. He’d been absolutely horrified, _obviously_ , but after Bev kissed his cheek and unceremoniously shoved Richie through the curtain, always staying true to the tough love approach, Richie’d felt excited.

He wanted to search for the Losers, knowing their exact seat numbers and placements in the audience, but there had been a reason for not seating them in to the front. _”Well it’s obvious”_ , he’d said after he’d been questioned. ” _I’d take one good look at one of yours proud expression and I’d just end up kicking someone in the face with a stage light”_.

So the Losers were up on the side, close enough that Richie could find them in an instance, but far enough that he’d still be able to focus on the audience and not his friends.

Richie took a deep breath and started.

”So, like most of you know, I had quite a public breakdown few months ago”, he said, earning a few surprised and probably accidental laughs at his straightforward approach. ”Before someone asks, no, it was not drug related, but thank you for thinking I’d be tough enough to do drugs, that does wonders to my street credit.” Another few laughs, but it seemed that people were mostly waiting for his explanation.

”It was actually something way more scandalous than drugs - I went to _therapy_!” Riche gasped loudly into the mic. ”Yeah, I know, I’m just as shocked as you are! Who would have thought that a forty years old man living off of masturbation jokes would need therapy?” More chuckles here and there, some of them sounding weirdly apologetic. ”And to those who just now thought ’well, _duh_ ’, I have a few things. Firstly, fuck you for not sharing with the rest of the class, it would have saved me a lot of trouble. And secondly, you definitely need to go to therapy too - you were aware that I was in desperate need for professional help and _still_ got tickets for this? Yeah, you got some issues to work through my guy.” More laughs and Richie grinned.

The audience started to relax, apparently coming to the conclusion that even though the jokes were different, they sill enjoyed _Richie_ and were willing to sit through his set and hopefully have a good time. This made Richie relax too, and he went on to tell a few bits he’d rehearsed thoroughly and felt comfortable sharing. They were mostly stories about the Losers, stupid anecdotes that he’d tried his best to make as truthful as possible while still being funny to people outside their little circle, and they seemed to go over well enough.

”Do you wanna hear a math problem I’ve never understood?” Richie asked about forty minutes later. No one had left or hackled him so far, so he figured it was now or never. ”I mean, obviously not because math fucking sucks, but that’s why I’m the one with the microphone, ha! Anyway, there’s three doors in front of you, right? You’re looking for a person that’s behind one of them, so when you pick a door the odds of finding the person are 33%, right?” There were some murmurs from the audience, but Richie didn’t pay too much attention. ”Now, apparently, according to some important guy man, if you change your mind about the door you picked _after_ the fact, changing your choice to one of the remaining two, your odds on finding the person are greater than before because it’s 50%” Richie waited a beat for everyone to catch up with his words before shrieking ”That makes _no_ sense!” He shoot a look at a very unimpressed looking Stan who’d explained this to Richie _multiple_ times.

”Like, yeah, sure, the odds are supposedly 50/50, but there’s the third door _right there_ so obviously the odds are still 33%, and I will meet every nerd who disagrees at the back alley after the show”, another very pointed glare at Stan. ”Not to like, beat them up or anything!” He added quickly. ”Just to, like, gently tell them that sometimes, just _sometimes_ , math might be _wrong_!” Richie gasped loudly and chuckled a bit with the audience.

” _Anyway_ , even though we can’t all agree on the correct percentage here, what we _can_ agree on from this point forward is that there is actually a 0% chance that you will find the person behind _any_ of those doors because what I failed to mention - for the purpose of creating drama and tension because that’s what kind of a person I am - is, those were closet doors and the person was me and I am stepping the fuck out!”

~*~*~

Richie had told his friends beforehand, just before the show. They’d rallied around him to say good luck, and Richie’d awkwardly shifted on his feet before blurting it out and then immediately going ”I wanted to tell you before the show, in case, you know, someone wants to free up their seat because of it. I would have said something before you guys even flew in, but I was selfish and wanted to meet up before in case… in case it was the last time”.

What had followed was a stunned silence that only lasted for about three seconds before Beverly smacked Richie upside the head.

”Ouch! The fuck was that for?”

”For thinking any of us would not want to be here because you’re gay!” she yelled, sounding much like a mother scolding their child.

”Yeah, Richie, the reason I don’t want to be here is because you’re not funny”, Stan deadpanned, and that was that.

~*~*~

”My jokes from before weren’t written by me - I know, what a shocker! Anyway, those jokes might not have been written by me, but they were _told_ by me which I want to apologize for. They were sexist and misogynistic and ironically enough, homophobic, and I do not support or condone any of that.” Richie looked around the audience, partly daring someone to say something and partly terrified someone might.

”I can’t really blame my writers, because they did what was asked of them and their work is what got me to where I am today, so it would be hypocritical of me to be like ’ _fuck you and your shitty jokes, I will continue profiting off of them_ ’. No, I will not say that, but I will say to them - and no I don’t have to tell them personally because I _know_ they will be watching. I mean imagine writing for someone for _years_ , then getting fired out of the blue and _not_ watching the shitshow that the person who fired you put up?” Someone in the audience snorted and even though Richie couldn’t tell if it was a good snort or a bad snort, he was thankful for it nevertheless because it seemed to ease the overall tension and silence that had filled the room.

”Anyway, my dear writers, thank you for making it possible for me to get on this stage to shit on your work, but please, _please_ take a good hard look into yourselves and get to stepping towards therapy too, because your sense of humor needs fucking work”, Richie said, looking straight at the camera for this part before turning back towards the audience and addressing them.

”So, ladies and gentlemen and everyone within and outside those terms - no, don’t worry people, I will not start preaching about gender identity now. You will have to tune in for the next special for that”, Richie said with a wink. ”I hope you’ve enjoyed the show. If you did, great! If you didn’t, that’s fine, _but_ if the reason is me being a big old homo, then please join the nerds in meeting me in the back alley - and this time for getting beat up, because what I _do_ condone is punching assholes! I’ve been Richie Tozier and _this_ -” Richie waved his hand around ”- has been me coming out! Thank you!”

~*~*~

First one to throw their arms around Richie was Bev. She’d always been the quickest to jump into action, and she did have the advantage of her seat being closest to the hallway since she’d also seen Richie off.

Then it was Ben, with his muscular arms the made Richie feel safe and secure in the embrace. He’d ask Ben to be his weight blanket if it wasn’t for the way Ben immediately reached for Bev after letting Richie go, their fingers entwining with ease that only came for people who were meant for each other. Richie had multiple bits written about how disgustingly sweet it was.

Then it was Mike, beautiful, loyal Mike who was _glowing_ , life outside Derry treating him well. He grabbed the back of Richie’s neck, pressing their foreheads together for a bit before laughing loud and bright.

Then there was Bill, who didn’t rush to congratulate Richie, instead pointing an accusing finger at him and saying ”I will never let you give me shit for not knowing how to finish a story, you didn’t finish _any_ tonight!” He was probably trying for mad, but ended up sounding amused and the fake scowl quickly disappeared to make way for a wide smile before Bill pulled Richie into a hug, slapping his back a few times like a real bro he was.

And then it was Stan and Eddie ( _Eddie_ ) and Richie was positively _vibrating_.

”Well, what did you think?” he asked, trying to decide if he should put his hands into his pockets or not.

”You’re not funny”, Eddie replied immediately, not missing a beat as Richie made the choice to shove his hands into his pockets as to not reach over and do something stupid like touch Eddie all over.

”Then why were you laughing?” Richie shot back, raising his eyebrow like a cat who got the canary. Eddie mirrored him.

”Stan said something absolutely _hilarious_ , unlike -”

”Do _not_ drag me into your weird foreplay”, Stan interrupted and gave warning stares to both of them as Richie sighed ”ooh I _wish_ ” and Eddie elbowed Stan’s ribs and shrieked ”shut the fuck up!”

Richie could hear the other Losers laughing behind him, Bev’s bright voice clearest over them all, unashamed in her amusement - unlike Stan who was trying to keep the unimpressed and annoyed look on his face. Richie knew it was all a facade, just like he knew that the blush on Eddie’s face ran down his neck all the way to his collarbones.

”Richard”, Stan said, after the laughter had slightly calmed down He waited for Richie to tear his gaze away from Eddie, before straightening himself up and stating very matter-of-fact ”You did a good job at keeping me entertained for an hour. I would have appreciated a few less fucks and a few more satisfying conclusions to stories but all in all it was a good time. I know that wasn’t an easy thing for you to do and I am very happy I got to be here for you and I am proud of you.”

Richie blinked, not having expected that at all. He didn’t have time to respond when Stan carried on, unbothered with Richie’s stunned expression. ”That being _said_ , we were also promised food, and even though it wouldn’t be out of character for you to feed us from the vending machines, I would appreciate some real sustenance.”

”Oh, yes, right” Richie agreed quickly, happy with the obvious out Stan had blessed him with, knowing Richie wasn’t good with genuine compliments. ”Food, yes. I did promise that, and I am keeping that promise, but I also do have to change before we leave and even though I _am_ stupidly rich and famous and all that jazz, I sadly didn’t get the orgy room tonight, so my dressing room isn’t big enough for so many full grown adults. So if you want food, you gotta vamoose, so I can get naked before joining you.”

”You didn’t have to say like half of the stuff you just did”, Bill pointed out and Richie turned to look at him.

”Hey, William Denbrough is it? I assume we haven’t met before since you’re not yet familiar that I don’t _have_ to say _any_ of the shit I say on the regular”, Richie said, holding his hand out for Bill to shake. He didn’t, but Bev did, looked straight into his eyes and said ”Hey, I’m Beverly Marsh, a big fan and _very_ hungry. I will take all these equally hungry gentlemen with me to the front lounge, where we will be waiting for you for _maximum_ of ten minutes - I know how you dress so I _know_ it won’t take longer than that - before I’ll start selling information about you to the press to pay for the food. Understood?”

Richie knew that Bev would never sell any info about any of them, but the look in her eyes was fierce enough that he found himself saluting and saying ”Yes ma’am! See these dear fellow out and I shall join you posthaste!”

Bev smiled, leaned to kiss his cheek before linking her fingers with Ben again and grabbing Bill by the elbow and making her way towards the lounge, clearly trusting the rest to follow her. They did, Stan catching up with them quickly and Mike a step behind, looking at his friends with a warm and happy smile on his face. Richie made a mental note to hug Mike more often.

But Eddie… Eddie stayed behind, shuffling awkwardly on his feet before meeting Richie’s questioning gaze.

”Does your dressing room fit me?” he asked, sounding weirdly awkward. That just wouldn’t do, so Richie raised his eyebrow and smirked.

”Well, I was talking about _full grown_ adults before, so…”

”Shut the _fuck_ up” Eddie groaned and Richie’s laugh echoed through the corridor as he guided them to his room.

After opening the door Richie cursed himself for not cleaning up beforehand, which was ridiculous because it wasn’t his job and besides, Eddie had _definitely_ seen worse, just in general and also when it came to Richie specifically. It wasn’t even as messy as it could have been, but it was still _messy_. Richie had the tendency to throw his shit around wherever he went - jacket thrown into one corner and shoes kicked to the other one.

”It’s impressive how you’ve probably only spend like ten minutes here and it still looks like this”, Eddie said conversationally after stepping in. Richie followed his gaze to the sofa where Richie’d thrown his bag, which had apparently been open as he did so if the scattered clothes were anything to go by. Richie snorted.

”You know me, I live to impress”, he said nonchalantly and sat down in front of the mirror, reaching to the babywipes on the table. He’d always been against wearing make-up on stage, partly because he wasn’t particularly a fan of having it drip down his face because he was sweating from the lights, and partly because of the whole no-homo thing. Also having strangers all up in his personal space beating his face wasn’t particularly a welcoming thought, but today had been different. He was yes-homo, now. So he’d asked Bev to find him something that wasn’t going to run down his face and instead would make him look more alive, because he did not want to look white as a ghost on stage even though he was terrified.

As he worked to clean his face he saw Eddie shuffle around on his feet, jittering with a nervous energy. It was unlike them to be quiet for even a brief moment, and Richie wanted to ask if everything was okay, but he also didn’t want to push Eddie. He was clearly working himself up to something, and Richie was quite terrified to know what it was. He didn’t think Eddie would have a problem with _him_ , and he hadn’t run off after Richie came out before the show, but repression was a bitch that filled the quiet with Richie’s worst fears. Maybe Eddie _did_ have a problem, but he hadn’t run off because he wanted to tell Richie in person what kind of a disgusting person he was. Maybe he didn’t have a problem with Richie’s sexuality, but he _did_ have a problem with Richie’s stories, with the way he had talked about -

”Richie”, Eddie said suddenly, his voice louder than necessary.

”Uhuh?” Richie replied fake noncommittally and finished wiping his face, wanting a few extra seconds before he turned around to face Eddie, who looked like he was about to vibrate out of his skin.

”I’m so proud of you”, Eddie blurted out, not giving Richie time to react with anything more than a surprised face before continuing. ”I’m so, _so_ proud of you and I’m sorry for not saying it before. I wanted to but then when I opened my mouth I said that you’re not funny which is not true because you’re the funniest person I’ve ever met - and I will deny ever saying this if anyone asks, but no one will ask because it’s so fucking _obvious_ , Stan kept fucking laughing at _me_ because I was looking at you like the sun shone out of your ass and -”

”Eddie, breathe -”

”- I mean Bill was right, you get distracted so fucking easily it’s ridiculous, you can’t finish a bit for _shit_ and -”

”All part of the charm baby”, Richie said, the pet name slipping off his lips without a second thought because Eddie had said the _sun shone out of his ass_.

”- why the _fuck_ can’t you wear normal clothes ever in your life, you look like a homeless person -” Eddie carried on like Richie hadn’t said a word.

”I’m really glad I agreed to let you in here to insult me like this.”

”- but I’m so fucking proud of you and -”

”No, no, stop that, go back to being mean.”

”Would you shut the fuck up, this is a one time offer to get compliments that I will absolutely never admit saying.”

”Didn’t you just say you don’t have to admit because it’s obvious?” Richie pointed out, enjoying the way Eddie turned crimson and glared at him.

”Stop interrupting me, I’m trying to… I want to say something.”

Richie swallowed down whatever reply his mind had already formed and instead mimed zipping his lips. Eddie seemed unconvinced in Richie’s abilities to stay quiet - which was fair, but Richie knew when Eddie was being serious about something so he smiled reassuringly. It was apparently enough, because Eddie took an oddly shaky breath considering his voice didn’t waver once as he spoke.

”You know what you were saying about talking about… _someone_ , if they were okay with it?”

Richie’s eyes widened, because of all the things he thought Eddie might say, this wasn’t it. This was _never_ it, but even less here, _now_ , with Richie sitting dumbly in front of his dressing room mirror looking a mess, Eddie standing few feet away looking anything but a mess - except maybe emotionally, but that was just his normal state of being.

( _”I’m not going to be talking about any girlfriends no more because there is no girlfriend. There never was. Not that I could talk about a boyfriend either, because there is no boyfriend - I mean, look at me. But there is… someone. And I’d like to talk about him, because I’d like to talk about him all the time, because he is my favorite person.”_ )

”I… Yeah, I know”, Richie replied after probably too long of a silence. Eddie nodded, like he’d actually wanted Richie to confirm that he hadn’t blacked out after coming off stage.

”Well I think they are. I -” another deep breath, this time very stable as Eddie straightened his stance before looking Richie dead in the eye. ”I _know_ he is.”

Richie breath caught in his throat as his heart seemed to stop, and for a second Richie was sure he was about to experience the first serious medical emergency in his life - and how funny would that be, to be rushed to the hospital only moments after being _so_ _close_ to getting what he’s always wanted?

But then he saw the quick wave of uncertainty flash over Eddie’s eyes and that wasn’t okay, so his heart picked up again, fresh air filled his lungs, and he was able to find his footing as he slowly stood up.

”So in my next show I should talk about him?” he asked tentatively, wanting to be completely sure. It wouldn’t be enough to be on the same page, it had to be the same book too.

”I mean, he’d prefer to have a private conversation first, but yes”, Eddie replied instantly, taking a slow step forward.

”Can I…” Richie started, his voice catching in his throat as he copied Eddie’s step. ”I’ve talked nonstop for the last hour and a half, can I just…” he reached towards Eddie. He didn’t have to think about it, because he was _always_ reaching towards Eddie. He had to _stop_ stopping himself from reaching out. ”Can I… _Eddie_.”

”Yeah, Rich, anything, I -” Eddie replied, the pleading in his voice matching Richie’s as he took another step, getting _finally_ close enough for Richie to take a hold of the side of his face to bring it close enough so they could finally, fucking _finally_ -

But because he’s _Richie_ he had to talk.

”Eddie, I -”

”Me too, Richie, _me too_ ”, Eddie breathed out in a rush and the next thing Richie knew was being kissed by the love of his life.

Richie made an embarrassing sound at the back of his throat before he could reciprocate, wrapping his free arm around Eddie’s waist to bring him as close as physically possible while Eddie’s hands ended up in his hair.

The few times Richie had given himself permission or slipped into thinking about how kissing Eddie might be, he’d never been even _close_. He’d always figured Eddie would be tentative, would prefer to swap spit as little as possible and to make it brief and precise. He had _not_ expected Eddie to _bite_ his bottom lip to be able to push his tongue in Richie’s mouth and groan happily as their tongues met.

Later - maybe minutes, maybe hours, Richie couldn’t even recall the year - Richie felt the need for oxygen override the need to memorize the inside of Eddie’s mouth and the feel of him under Richie’s hands. He regretfully pulled away, not able to go far as Eddie _whined_ and chased after his mouth again.

”Fuck, _Eds_ , you’re going to _kill me_ ”, Richie groaned against Eddie’s lips, completely at peace with the possibility of death by Edward Kaspbrak. What on earth had he been _thinking_ that oxygen was more important the feel of Eddie’s lips against his?

”Don’t -” Eddie grumbled, sounding somehow both pissed off and pleased ”- call me Eds”, he finished, and Richie was sadly forced to stop kissing again because he was laughing too hard.

”Oh, Eddie, _Eds_ , my sweet, lovely Spaghetti -”

”I fucking hate you”, Eddie groaned, pressing his face against Richie’s chest - probably to hide the blush that had creeped onto his cheeks.

”- I always knew you loved the nicknames but now you will absolutely _never_ be able to convince me otherwise”, Richie said through a grin, smacking a loud kiss against the top of Eddie’s head just because he _could_.

”I don’t love the nicknames, I love _you_ ”, Eddie mumbled angrily against Richie’s chest, making the other man freeze.

”Wha-” Eddie started before suddenly pushing himself back from Richie’s chest to stare wide eyed at his face. ”I thought that’s what this was”, he said, sounding panicked. ”I thought you - no, nevermind, I - _Richie_ , I _love_ you. I’m in love with you”, Eddie continued, looking at Richie with an expression Richie didn’t want to see a second longer.

Richie grabbed Eddie’s face, pressing their lips together again, trying to convey everything he’d ever felt towards Eddie in that one kiss. It wasn’t intense making out like the first kiss, but it was _emotionally_ intense, and Richie felt like the worst type of cliche for being able to distinct that.

”Of course I’m in love with you”, he breathed against Eddie’s lips. ”Of _course_ I am, Eddie, _baby_ ”, he continued, hating the way his voice cracked on the last word and trying to get Eddie to ignore it by starting to pepper kisses all over his face.

”You fucking _scared_ me, you _asshole_ ”, Eddie hissed and slapped Richie’s chest before glancing at his face again. ”Oh my God are you _crying_?”

” _No_ ”, Richie lied and leaned down to crush his face against the place where Eddie’s neck met his shoulder.

”Sure you aren’t”, Eddie said overly sweetly. ”If this will be a reoccurring thing for every time I tell you I love you, I hope you know the only reason I’m not making fun of you right now is because I know the others will when they see you”, he added and leaned back to disentangle them enough to be able to swipe away the wetness from under Richie’s eyes.

”You look a mess”, he said regular sweetly now and pecked Richie quickly before stepping back enough for there to be a good feet between them. ”Here’s what we’ll do”, Eddie said very matter-of-fact, and Richie couldn’t help but smile wetly at it. ”First, I’ll grab your things while you clean your glasses and blow your nose. Then, we’ll go out to meet with the others where you will be made fun of - with love, before we go out to celebrate with our friends until an acceptable amount of time has passed. I’m thinking two hours is plenty, before we’ll leave together to go back to yours - where I’ll be staying, by the way, and then, _finally_ I’ll find out if you’ve been compensating with the dick jokes all these years.”

It took a second before Eddie’s spitfire talk registered in Richie’s brain, but when it did he groaned loudly. ”You can’t just finish with that, you’re so _mean_ ” he complained and made grabby hands at Eddie, who dodged with ease, going over to start shoving Richie’s stuff back into his bag.

”You’re right, it _is_ mean to plan on ditching our friends in only two hours”, Eddie said thoughtfully after a beat, smiling innocently at Richie. ”I think it should be three.” Richie’s eyes widened. ”No, that’s still quite rude, maybe four is better?” Eddie continued and cocked his head to the side, glancing towards the tissues pointedly. ”Or, I don’t know, since we’ve been here quite long…”

”Okay okay! I’m going!” Richie yelled and dove towards the tissues. The sound of him blowing his nose was only overpowered by Eddie’s laugh.

~*~*~

When Richie turned around the corner with his fingers tightly intertwined with Eddie’s, he couldn’t help but notice that their fingers fit together as easily as Ben and Bev’s had. Their waiting friends all collectively fell silent in the otherwise empty lounge, and raised their eyebrows in weird unison very pointedly. Richie could hear Eddie holding in a giggle, since all the eyes seemed to be solely on Richie.

”You took an awfully long time considering you didn’t even end up changing”, Stan deadpanned, and Richie glanced down and let out a surprised _oh_.

”I was a bit preoccupied with, you know, the love of my life”, he replied defensively, choosing to ignore both the _aww_ ’s that followed and the heat rising to his face. ”Besides, did you _really_ want me to start undressing there? We would have taken a _lot_ longer”, he continued with a wiggle of his eyebrows, earning groans from most of the others and - rudely, a pinch from Eddie.

”You’re right, good point, let’s go”, Stan said and actually clapped his hands together like he was a teacher on a school field trip. "Congratulations on the _least_ surprising relationship development in history. Bill, you owe everyone money.”

”Huh? Why, I don’t remember -”

”You bet _against_ Richie crying like a lovesick teenager in a coming-of-age movie”, Bev explained with a stretched out hand and a wide grin.

” _What_? Why would I - _against_?” Bill stuttered, looking helplessly around himself for anyone to back him up. Instead he got a pat on the back from Mike with a sympathetic smile and a ”sorry buddy”.

”Very specific bet”, Richie mumbled against the side of Eddie’s head where he’d hidden his face to hide the fact that he was feeling a bit teary eyed again. ”Also rude to only attack me when it takes two to tango.”

”We didn’t make any bets about Eddie because he’s a bit of a wild card, whereas you are as transparent as they come”, Bev explained with a shrug.

” _Hey_!” Eddie yelled in offense, quite pointlessly since Bev ignored him as he smiled sweetly at Richie while starting to walk backwards towards the doors, getting the others moving as well.

”Now, I believe I said something about a ten minute wait, didn’t I?”

”Oh, right!” Richie laughed. It didn’t really make sense, considering they _had_ waited for however long Richie and Eddie had taken, but clearly Bev had a bit to finish if the wicked look in her eyes was anything to go by, so Richie played along. ”So, what information did you sell to the press?”

”Oh, I decided on calling you out for being a liar, since you said you don’t have a boyfriend, when in reality you’re now in a loving relationship with someone you’ve been in love with since before you knew what it meant”, she said sweetly.

Richie figured being on the receiving end of the good natured laughter of his friends because of the embarrassing whimper he’d let slip out wasn’t so bad, not when Eddie was there next to him, squeezing his hand and going to his tippy toes to kiss the side of Richie’s mouth.

Yeah, it wasn’t so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it! Thank you for reading, feel free to validate me via the comment section and check out my other fics!
> 
> I'm currently on a week long holiday, and this is what I wrote during the first day. Who cares about the beautiful, snowy nature when there is happy endings to be written am I right?
> 
> Also I absolutely got the part about the doors from Brooklyn 99.


End file.
